Milstar Payloads:  Ensuring the Command and Control Connection

The Milstar Communications Network ? a series of advanced satellites linked to mobile ground terminals ? provides assured command and control to U.S. forces worldwide.  The satellites carry Northrop Grumman-built low data rate payloads which provide the world?s first onboard digital processing.  Milstar satellites function as autonomous ?switchboards in space,? that let users communicate with each other anytime, anywhere in the world, at any level of conflict.  These features, and others on a Milstar medium data rate payload with broadband capabilities, are crucial to successful operations on the modern battlefield and are not available through other military or civil communications networks.

Lockheed-Martin builds and integrates the Milstar satellites.  The first Milstar satellite launched in 1994, the second in 1995.  These first two flights, known collectively as Milstar I, house a Northrop Grumman-developed and Northrop Grumman-built Low Data Rate (LDR) payload, serving core command and control activities.  LDR offers secure, antijam, interoperable voice and data links to 2400 bps.

A Medium Data Rate (MDR) payload complements the LDR on Milstar II satellites (Flights 4, 5 and 6, collectively).  Northrop Grumman developed and built the MDR antennas and digital processing subsystem for Boeing Satellite Systems, the MDR payload integrator.  MDR extends the LDR architecture to higher data rates for tactical users into fixed sites and highly mobile terminals.

Milstar II evolved as the cold war and incumbent strategic threats gave way to new third world threats and regional conflicts.  Rapid command and control capability is vital to these near-term and 21st century battlefield scenarios ? arenas that demand multiservice interaction, fast deployment and timely intelligence updates.

Milstar meets those needs.  The system is flexible; onboard processing, driven by Northrop Grumman software, can reconfigure networks to suit evolving command and control requirements.  Satellite crosslinks and onboard point-to-point routing offer direct connectivity between Commanders-in-Chief and troops in the field.  The launch of Milstar Flight 5 in early 2002 ?completed the ring,? allowing messages to travel around the globe via crosslinks without the need for intermediary ground stations.  EHF frequencies and highly directional antennas reduce the probability of jamming and intercept, assuring secure, reliable communications.  And, lightweight portable terminals on land, aboard ships and aircraft can be easily moved during tactical operations.

Milstar communications ensure command and control for the 21st century.